Turning a passion for food into a journey to the MasterChef kitchen. Join me as I sit down with Inderpal Singh, the culinary genius who cooked his way to the coveted title of season four's MasterChef Singapore. From his early fascination with food to carving out a space for his home-based food business during the COVID-19 pandemic, Inderpal's passion for food is as flavorful and robust as the dishes he creates.
We navigate the thrilling and challenging world of MasterChef Singapore with Inderpal, who gives us an exclusive peek behind the curtains. You'll get a taste of how he weathered culinary disasters, rose above low moments, and thrived under the mentorship of the 3 Judges. Hear about Inderpal's philosophy on cooking, encapsulated in his mantra "keep your knife sharp, your station clean, and your head down." You'll find his approach to cooking both inspiring and practical, whether you're a budding home chef or a seasoned culinary pro.
But the conversation isn't just confined to the MasterChef kitchen. Inderpal shares his candid thoughts on fusion cooking, his go-to healthy snacks and his favorite food destination for holidays. If you're a food enthusiast, this episode with Inderpal Singh is a veritable feast for your ears!
Turning a passion for food into a journey to the MasterChef kitchen. Join me as I sit down with Inderpal Singh, the culinary genius who cooked his way to the coveted title of season four's MasterChef Singapore. From his early fascination with food to carving out a space for his home-based food business during the COVID-19 pandemic, Inderpal's passion for food is as flavorful and robust as the dishes he creates.
We navigate the thrilling and challenging world of MasterChef Singapore with Inderpal, who gives us an exclusive peek behind the curtains. You'll get a taste of how he weathered culinary disasters, rose above low moments, and thrived under the mentorship of the 3 Judges. Hear about Inderpal's philosophy on cooking, encapsulated in his mantra "keep your knife sharp, your station clean, and your head down." You'll find his approach to cooking both inspiring and practical, whether you're a budding home chef or a seasoned culinary pro.
But the conversation isn't just confined to the MasterChef kitchen. Inderpal shares his candid thoughts on fusion cooking, his go-to healthy snacks and his favorite food destination for holidays. If you're a food enthusiast, this episode with Inderpal Singh is a veritable feast for your ears!
So, no, I'm not professionally trained. Okay, um, what I will say is I I got training from one of the most esteemed professors in the world. His name is Dr YouTube.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I started everything on online basically.
Speaker 2:You know that that is amazing, isn't it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's just been. You know one thing, after you try a different technique and I think the biggest thing that made me want to go into, you know, beautiful food, like food, is food. Everybody needs food, but how you, how you elevate it, how you amplify it. I think that was really down to MasterChef Australia, okay, and I started watching it from like I think, season four Okay.
Speaker 1:I think that was the season order was on, if I'm not wrong and I just fell in love with how intricate and how small but yet like massive flavor bombs people can create, Like that just fascinated me. And then I never stopped watching. I never missed a single episode I think the most emotionally fueled episodes and I'm like a emo guy, Like I will cry, I will laugh, I will laugh the loudest and I will cry the hardest.
Speaker 1:I'm that kind of you know, if you watch MasterChef you know like, and to me I think this perfect strangers, that I don't know, they don't know who I am either, but when they get that white apron, that feeling is wow. It's something that always felt I wanted.
Speaker 1:It was like a priceless feeling that I felt like only a very handful amount of people in the world can get. I just really wanted to be one of those guys, so I've been blessed. Since the competition ended, I've worked in a mission start kitchen to get some training, and the one thing I've learned from watching all the chefs is keep your knife sharp, your station clean and your head down.
Speaker 2:Can you repeat that that is nice man? What is it?
Speaker 1:What is it? Keep your knife sharp, your station clean and your head down. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
Speaker 2:Hello, we are back on the Silver Fox Hustle podcast. I'm Shasi, and before we move on, please click on the subscribe button. We are on Spotify, youtube, apple Podcast, the Works Now. I'm very stoked today because I've got a total total, a total rock star in the house, and you'll know why. In a bit right, he won the latest season of MasterChef Singapore that season four, I believe, and he was I want to say was is the owner of a home-based FMB business. He will tell us more about that, but let's not waste time In the house today is Mr Inderpal Singh.
Speaker 1:Hi Shashi, how are you doing, man?
Speaker 2:I'm good man, and how has it been? My friend.
Speaker 1:I just want to ask you this right.
Speaker 2:Has it sunk in?
Speaker 1:Honestly it hasn't. It hasn't so it's still very fresh, very new. A lot of people you know approaching me on the roads, on the streets. I can't regret my picture and a lot of times I don't really look by my best self. But yeah, it's been an absolute blessing it really has. Coming through the season with so many competitors, so many strong, strong cooks. I think it sort of gave me the personal affirmation that I needed, that I do belong in this industry.
Speaker 2:You totally, totally deserve it, man. Thank you very much, and you belong in the industry. What do you?
Speaker 1:mean by.
Speaker 2:You know, you think you definitely, and you get stopped in the streets. I have.
Speaker 1:And so the funniest thing is I was just talking to Tina and Mandy the other day, the other two top three right, and we sort of discovered this funny thing. So when Tina goes to Little India in Chinatown she gets stopped, but when she goes to Geylang, nothing Wow. And then Mandy, when she goes to Chinatown. Nothing but when she went to Geylang and take a market, people took pictures with her right.
Speaker 1:So, I've been to Chinatown and Geylang, people have stopped me. I'm going to Little India later. I'll let you know later on what's happened, lovely, lovely.
Speaker 2:You know this podcast is all about, you know, getting to know the rock star and the guests in the house and, you know, to get to know that person better. We got to go a little bit back in time, right? How was the young in the past? Like siblings, parents?
Speaker 1:So I'm the youngest of my siblings, so I actually there's total of four of us, but my eldest is to actually pass on when I was five. So that was not easy to take, didn't really understand what was going on. But, yeah, the family, we went through it. We, we survived all of that and, yeah, we just got closer. Yeah, I was always told that I'm the most pampered because I'm the youngest and everything. Are you? I don't think so. You sure.
Speaker 1:Well, I don't know my siblings will probably say today is going to hahh rubbish.
Speaker 2:And how about schools that you went to?
Speaker 1:So again coming back to my siblings' thing, so they were all born and raised in Telok Blangah, and then my parents moved to Isun just before I was born right so.
Speaker 1:I'm the first one to go to all the Isun schools and so I went to Huamin Primary School. I still it was amazing because, like after the whole master's shifting, and that people were connecting with me from Huamin days and I'm like, oh my God, dude, yeah, I remember you. We were both so tiny, you know, and yeah, I think, the ones where I really made some good friends who I still see now, and then it's secondary school. Amade.
Speaker 2:Brian's secondary school.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So yeah, I made a lot of friends there. I think that's where I got my real first taste of like public speaking and stuff. I really got very confident in secondary school. It was an eye-opening experience for me.
Speaker 2:We just come back to that part that you know, public speaking part. So was there like a CCA that you know, I don't know debating thingy or what?
Speaker 1:So we were very. I think that if you talk to anybody in that generation who went to Amade Abraham, I think from the early 2000s to like 2006, 2007,. You'll realize that they were all very glad for the principal that we had. He was this guy who really believed in many, many prongs of education and he would like change assemblies up Like it wasn't like your usual assemblies, where you know you sit and listen to something. It was always something very arts related.
Speaker 1:It was something that we had to do with our hands or some things that you know, like we would prepare, like impromptu debates and stuff. So he really wanted the, you know, public speaking to be a core point and he wanted to give the students as much confidence as possible.
Speaker 2:I think the leaders of schools are very important. Oh yeah, definitely, 100%, absolutely right, you know then you know, the students can, you know, develop through whatever leadership he portrays, and I think he leads by example.
Speaker 1:Anyway, oh, he does. Yeah, so thank you, Mr Tan King Drew, if you're listening, lovely, lovely.
Speaker 2:Is it still at the school? I don't think so.
Speaker 1:So he left in my last year and I don't know where he is now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so what? What's he says? Did you?
Speaker 1:I was a bit all over the place. So we have this thing where, like you, again, it was down to the principle he allowed us to change our CCs every year unless you were in the uniform group sense. A bit tough. But I tried soccer for one year, the first year, and then I don't know why, but in sector I was, I was doing table tennis.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, why I?
Speaker 1:have no clue, man, but it was so fun. It really taught me a lot of perseverance and endurance, because it's not easy to go to go like so many matches in the same position and, like for football, you get to move around. You know you can cover, somebody can cover you, but table tennis is you against the other.
Speaker 2:You can hide, man, you can hide, you can hide You're exposed, you're exposed, simple as that. I just want to say, coming back to table tennis, right, I'm in a school as well, and not a lot of people or students nowadays can can play table tennis. It is the hand-eye coordination, it's not for them.
Speaker 1:It's not easy, right. It's down to these little things, right. They've ruined a lot of things for us, right, right, right.
Speaker 2:You're absolutely right, man. You know I was watching clips of you and MasterChef and you know were you the, the, the joker in school as well. Because I mean, I know why now from this conversation already that you're witty, and all because of you know the public speaking part and you know, were you always like that.
Speaker 1:Like I think it comes down to really. So I mean there was, I mean in secondary school there's going to be bullying on some level, right, but a lot of those so-called bullies who started in second one, second two, actually turned out to be some of my best friends in second three, second four. I think we just like were you a bully? No, I wasn't, actually I wasn't the receiving end for a while, but then we we became good friends because we found common ground and it realized that actually why are we bullying this guy when we can actually just like have fun together?
Speaker 1:So I think that realization came thankfully pretty quick, so I didn't. I didn't really get bullied so much. So, yeah, I think it comes down to the wittiness. It just comes down to me. I don't know, man, my brain just works.
Speaker 2:I think it could be your family as well.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, my family's pretty witty. My dad has a lot of quirky comebacks here and there. My brother is also pretty, you know, nice, nice.
Speaker 2:Now let's come back to. You know the food bit, right, yeah, why food and cooking? Has it always been like that growing up? Like you know the food part.
Speaker 1:So the food part. For me, food was like this incredible fascination for me. It started when I was young. It was two-fold. The first fold was my dad is this amazing entertainer Like he'll have the family over like easily and my family is massive. My dad has 13 brothers and sisters, Wow 13. And each of them average about three to four children. So there you go. That's how many cousins.
Speaker 2:I have. Is your house big enough? So, my dad is an amazing at.
Speaker 1:At that point we were still sitting at the staircase outside just to eat food. But yeah, it could fit everyone. And so you know stuff, we were always entertaining and he always took a lot of happiness to cook for everyone, so he cooks as well he cooks for everyone. But if you ask him like, oh, this is amazing, how did you make it? He won't remember. I don't know. I think it was this, I think it was.
Speaker 1:He doesn't have like recipes, nothing you know, and the second prong for me, I think, was this was the absolute fascination Because, like my dad used to take me to temple every Sunday and when you go to the Sikh temple you realize everybody gets a free meal and everyone contributes to the free meal with their hands, not just through funds, but they actually come and physically do the work to get it done. And the thing that takes the most about a time is the rotis, the chapatis, right, because, yeah, you got to hand roll every single one and it's like a thousand per Sunday and I'm like this five year old kid, right, and I can't go approaching that super hot plate Like nobody wants a little kid around the fire, basically.
Speaker 1:So I was just like hey, I'm left out man. And then I saw this big burly, like muscular man, like stirring this giant vets of like dal and like vegetables and all that.
Speaker 1:And then I'm looking at them like just going five and add this little powder, the color changes, they add that, and then the completely everything's smell, the fragrances, everything changes. And to me that was like wow, that's magic, like what you're doing is, like you're concocting like a magical potion that everyone's going to eat later and like, lose their minds. You know, oh my.
Speaker 1:God, that's so delicious. And it started from there, and then, of course, I observed for a few weeks, and then you know one of the, he wanted to do the stirring as well. Yeah, and then one of the guys who, like you, want to try and go like really. Okay, and then I couldn't like.
Speaker 1:I remember. I still remember a memory of me, like standing next to it and like the pot is at my eye level and I'm just going, like you know, like trying very hard to see what is going on. Then he's so sweet, he got me like a stool and he held on to me to make sure you know I don't fall in. Yep, yeah, but that's how it began, man. And then from there, I never looked back. Whenever I went on Sundays, I just tried my best to give back as much as I could.
Speaker 2:Hey, it's beautiful, isn't it Like your journey actually started in a temple.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's beautiful, yeah it is, and feeding people has always been something that I love to do, even when my wife says, oh, you know, we should have these people over. Like, yeah, sure, I'll cook something. And we're like why do you always want to cook? Why don't you take a break, you know? Because I mean I can understand her side, because if I'm cooking then she's entertaining alone, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Now you know, the cooking journey obviously started from there and obviously your dad entertaining people and stuff, right? Yeah. Now professional wise or, as in like, training wise.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because I'm sure you need to or you don't, I don't know. You tell me right. Yeah, Like, how do you start with the training bit? Like you know, did you go to Shattac, or you know, you know those, those, those.
Speaker 1:So if you want to enter MasterChef, you cannot be professionally trained. You have to be an amateur home poke. Okay, okay. So no, I'm not professionally trained.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:What I will say is I got training from one of the most esteemed professors in the world. His name is Dr YouTube. Okay, yeah, so I started everything on the online, basically.
Speaker 2:You know that that is amazing, isn't it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's just been. You know one thing after you try a different technique and I think the biggest thing that made me want to go into you know, beautiful food, like food, is food. Everybody needs food, but how you, how you elevate it, how you amplify it. I think that was really down to MasterChef Australia.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:And I started watching it from like I think, season four Okay. I think that was a season order or something, if I'm not wrong and I just fell in love with how intricate and how small but yet like massive flavor bombs people can create, Like that just fascinated me. And then I never stopped watching. I never missed a single episode.
Speaker 2:I'm still amazed with this, the fact that you don't didn't have at least, like you know, like proper someone to go to to learn.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know Nothing. It's amazing man, yeah. So I mean, I know we'll get to that later on, so I'll cover a bit of that later on as to how and who I approached to talk to.
Speaker 2:Amazing, amazing. It's a great story. Man, your earliest influences in cooking. Honestly, or even chef, your favorite chef.
Speaker 1:So, honestly, when I was a kid watching these shows, or maybe like a teenager, masterchef Australia, it was always the three judges, the original three judges George. Columbaris. Gary Megan and Matt Preston. And yes, I enjoyed the competition part by. My favorite episodes used to be the ones where there was no competition. It was the masterclass.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So it was like taken by one of them and they'll show you like this technique and technique and I would, just I would sit there. I remember when, when I was younger, when, you know, phones weren't so high tech, I used to sit down and like actually write okay, I can do this and I can do that and I can do this and I would try it and sometimes it would work and sometimes I would fail miserably.
Speaker 1:I remember like even melting like a piece of plastic in my, in my sister's kitchen in Melbourne once or so.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So it was there, my guess, and, of course, any of the guest judges that came on. They brought a lot, and I think that's where the love and fascination of wanting to become a chef came from me. You know that little snippet that they will do to introduce the chef Right.
Speaker 2:I want to be one of those guys one day, man. Well, you will become soon, man.
Speaker 1:Soon, soon, fingers crossed.
Speaker 2:So when did it? Or did you like, like, tell yourself that's it, I want to become a chef.
Speaker 1:Like I just said, during those little like if they introduce like a judge, a guest judge or a guest chef who's coming? In to compete with the guys, then they'll have that little segment that we only see on TV, because I know I've been in MasterChef now. Right. We don't get to see what you guys see right. Exactly, you know it's like.
Speaker 1:okay, you know like and then they're plating and it's like you know, it's the flambé, and then, like at the end of it, this amazing looking piece of art comes out. I go like, okay, okay, okay, I really need to be one of those guys. Brilliant, brilliant.
Speaker 2:Now, before we start talking about MasterChef Singapore and the journey that you took part in, right Sure, let's talk about Mr Singh Itz Sure. Okay, that is actually your home-based business, and when did this start and what was your inspiration behind this?
Speaker 1:So it started in 2019, just when COVID hit our shores.
Speaker 2:Not the right time, not the no actually it's the best. Oh yeah, actually it's home-based business, right.
Speaker 1:So how it started was at the end of 2019, in December I took a holiday, just before all the lockdowns with my wife. We went to Amritsar for about four days and to us it's like one of the most precious trips we've ever had because I mean, I don't know, are you part Indian? My friend, yes, you are right. So you know that when you go to India, there's always an agenda, right?
Speaker 1:So this was the first trip in my life and my wife's life that we went to India without an agenda. We was like we were tourists anyway.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, I've never seen this. I've never seen that Because usually you're rushing to meet somebody or a family member or you're rushing to do shopping for a wedding or something right, but no agenda. It was amazing and then we came back. I remember when we came back that flight, they started giving out masks to everyone saying that, okay, there's something on the.
Speaker 2:Was that late 2019?
Speaker 1:So we landed actually, so we left in 2019, december. We came back early, jen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:And so it was still like is it, is it not? Is this a flu? Is it going to go away? Is it what? What is it right? And then remember, when we landed, we saw these massive machines at Changi Airport, like scanning everybody, like you know, like, it started, yeah, it started already and then, like everyone, then the boxes on the floor were like, okay, this is not going to last. And then those boxes until today is still around.
Speaker 2:Then they ever disappeared, right yeah?
Speaker 1:So I came back, I went back to work and somewhere in March I felt like I can see, I can get the feeling around. I was working in Min Sri Manpower and I can see that, okay, a lot of people are leaving. What?
Speaker 2:did you do?
Speaker 1:there I was actually an escalation officer, so basically just used to take phone calls. Try to solve the issue If I can't pass it on to someone else Right, right, right. And then we had a schedule list of calls that we need to call people back to try to solve their issues, and then I started saying like okay, a lot of people are suddenly leaving Because I can see that there's a very obvious downside is going on right.
Speaker 1:And I go like should I also take that risk? So I tried, I tried two weekends. Two weekends butter, chicken, roti, that's it, Sold out.
Speaker 2:How did you like? Like it's just word of mouth.
Speaker 1:Instagram. I just started Mr Singh Eat's Instagram page. I think in the first week I had like 10 followers. What was it? Butter chicken and Butter chicken and chapati. That's it.
Speaker 2:It's a pretty good deal, man, I know, I know, I know.
Speaker 1:You know, and then a lot of teething issues along the way you know, like what's a one portion, what's what not?
Speaker 2:So who did this? Who did the cookie? You and I did everything A to Z, Wow, A to Z marketing deliveries.
Speaker 1:Everything I did on my own. And over two weekends, so the weekends that I was not working I did it and then it was like busy, busy, busy. And then people started texting me like eh, I have a a pre-COVID lockdown party going on, let's just call it Right Right. And I'm having some of my friends over like can you cook for me?
Speaker 1:And I go, I can cook for you, but I don't want to come in contact with anyone because I have elderly at home. They're like, okay, fine, Can you do it on Wednesday? Then I go. Okay, hang on, this is becoming something right Right right right and they go like should I leave my job? Should I not? Should? I not. I just took the plan. They go okay. You know what? These are my two weeks. I told the guy look, I can do it for you on Wednesday. I have leave to clear anyway.
Speaker 1:So, I'll take my leave and yeah, let's do it. And then I put orders out that, okay, you know what, this is permanent now. And you know, hit me up. And then it blew up again, Wow. And then it came to a point where people started asking, okay, your butter chicken is great, but what else do you have? You know, like, give me something else. And then I go like, wow, if I'm going to do like too many things, then it's going to go nuts. So I just put out a poll like what do you want? And then aloo tikki that's what everybody wanted, right, and for me aloo tikki is the very traditional you know, where they have like a sankhan tava or a sankhan hot plate and the oil is in the middle and the tikki's are around right.
Speaker 1:And it's supposed to be squishy, so I made that. One tikki took me about eight minutes. My wife is looking at me like one tikki eight minutes. And you're judging one tikki like $2. Are you high? It's not even worth your time or your effort.
Speaker 1:And then we did it and my wife actually came up with what I like to call a delivery proof aloo tikki, where we can actually just deep fry the whole thing and it holds its integrity, because most of the time potato is full of water, right? So when you fry it it starts to pop and it breaks. So yeah, she actually came up with the recipe to keep it locked and we did that and then wow aloo, tikki's blew out. I remember.
Speaker 1:I can tell you that there were weekends where we were making like 600 tikki's at one go 700 tikki's at one go. And then she's just standing there and rolling and rolling and I'm just frying and frying and and she's not work agency as well, she's work she's full time job.
Speaker 1:At that point in time she was working for one of the big four and now she's working in tech. And she's still Now not so much because a lot of things are a bit more self-sufficient At the start. She really helped me so much and Mr Singhees wouldn't be where it is without Mr Singhees for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's brilliant man. I wanted to ask you did you ever feel like quitting?
Speaker 1:I don't think, so I'm not going to ask you that question, I think you should, because it's not that I felt like quitting, because so after COVID plateaued and things started opening up, orders sank dramatically because people were like oh, finally I can go out and eat right.
Speaker 1:And that's where I actually met one of the big influences on my culinary life, because my wife took me for a meal I remember pre-COVID to this fine dining restaurant At that point in time. It's very fresh, very new, it's called Teva at Kyungsek Road and I swear hands down, it's probably the best meal of my life.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:Yes, I'm not even kidding.
Speaker 2:What food is this? It's a.
Speaker 1:Malaysian Indian. Oh, that should be good man. It's so yummy right.
Speaker 2:It's still around.
Speaker 1:Yeah, of course. In fact now around road they've got two Michelin stars now.
Speaker 2:So it's what? T-h-e-e-v-a.
Speaker 1:T-H-E-E-V-A-R.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then I followed them, obviously just looking for inspirations on plating and stuff. So all of that fancy stuff I would cook for my wife, because I can't do that with Mr Singhees. It doesn't make sense. It was more about bulk sales, right. And then I saw Teva advertising like when the lockdown started lifting. It's like we're looking for people to work and go like hang on, Mr Singhees is doing okay, it's not terrible. I have like a regular flow of people, but it's not making the money that I was during. Covid right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, of course.
Speaker 1:So I just sent in my CV and the guy calls me for an interview. He said, hey, come on down, man. I was like okay, and I was obviously like starstruck. Oh my God, the legend who created the best meal of my life, right?
Speaker 2:So he's, a.
Speaker 1:Malaysian Indian. He's a Malaysian and he's from Penang. Very nice guy, chef Mano, and then he interviewed me and go like okay, look man, kitchen's full but I got front of the house if you want, you'll still learn a lot.
Speaker 1:I go like, okay, fine, so I did that and then slowly, slowly, as Mr Singhees orders dwindle, I just sort of semi shut it down. And yeah, that's where I met Mano and I spoke to him and I was standing at the pass. He made me because he said, like I have good skills with PR, I can talk to people well, and so he left me at the pass and serving all the big, important tables. So I could literally see all the chefs work, like art, and how they were presenting stuff, how they were cooking things. It was visual very visual for me and.
Speaker 1:I just learned as much as I could, soaked in as much as I could.
Speaker 2:I wanted to ask you this because you touched on this from one became 500 or 800 orders, I mean in terms of the dish. How difficult is it to keep the consistency going in terms of the quality? Because I mean. I don't know, I don't cook, I'm ignorant right but in terms of when you're doing something, maybe for five people, it's okay, right, but if you're doing for 500 people, how difficult is it to keep that consistency going?
Speaker 1:The consistency. Actually, it comes down to two things. One is the chef and one is the ingredients available. When you're doing that quantity during the height of COVID, where a lot of things a lot of times get sold out pretty quickly I mean, let's not talk about other people, but other things as well right Damn. But even simple things like tomatoes get sold out. People don't really talk about that because I can make do without tomatoes, but I'm the butter chicken guy if I don't have tomatoes.
Speaker 1:something is wrong right, but yeah, then you start experimenting. You use canned tomatoes. There is a difference. There's a big difference in the taste.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 1:I did get some feedback about that. And then try to improve. So I tried to order in bulk. Or then you start limiting your orders, like, okay, I can't take more than this this week or whatever. Nice, nice.
Speaker 2:Shall we talk about MasterChef? Sure sure In the first place, right? Obviously you watched the Australian episodes and stuff like that right. So was that the main inspiration. I just want to try at least to sign up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I always so to me. I mentioned, some of my favorite episodes were the ones with the MasterCars right, but I think, the most emotionally fueled episodes, and I'm like an emo guy, like I will laugh the loudest and I will cry the hardest.
Speaker 1:I'm that kind of you know if you watch MasterChef, you know right, yeah yeah, yeah, and to me, I think, these perfect strangers that I don't know, they don't know who I am either but when they get that white apron, that feeling is wow. It's something that I always felt I wanted it was like a priceless feeling that I felt like only a very handful amount of people in the world can get. I just really wanted to be one of those guys. Right, right.
Speaker 2:Any idea how many actually signed up Like like.
Speaker 1:The number is close to a thousand. It's in the late hundreds, but it's almost a thousand. And then they were streamlined. How?
Speaker 2:do they? How do they? I really don't know. So it's basically online application.
Speaker 1:Everybody, yeah, whoever wants to apply for season five. I guess they'll be starting in about a couple of months. The QR codes will start flying around on TV and all of that. Scan the QR code, you'll apply, and it'll go around on socials as well, you apply, and then it's not just like a trade for hey, hi, I want to cook and it's not like that. There are a few pages here. Like you need to write like a short paragraph about yourself a short essay about what you want to do this.
Speaker 1:There's a Psycheval. It's quite a few things. I mean Psycheval is important. I mean we've shared-.
Speaker 2:Yeah, of course, going out on TV and all right, but the fact that it's nearly a thousand and then you got chosen obviously because of whatever you sent, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1:So there's a few steps right. So first from that almost a thousand they cut it down to a few hundred. Then from the few hundred everybody comes for a cooking test. So that means you've cleared the site. I mean, they can't have somebody running around the kitchen with a knife after. Chef Damien, after a bad comment you know what I mean. Yeah, but so after all of that, you actually have to cook. It comes down to your food, right? So you might be like perfect fit for the competition.
Speaker 2:So who do you cook in front of? It's a blind we cook.
Speaker 1:The crew is there to give you a sort of feel as well about what it's going to be like in the competition. It's not as easy as cooking at home, because people keep coming up to you. So what are you doing now? Tell me what you're doing now. Tell me what you're doing now.
Speaker 2:And you don't? This is the question I always wanted and I wanted to ask you later on, but I might as well do it now. You don't have a recipe in front of you right? No, I never do. Absolutely zero, zero zero.
Speaker 1:The only time you have I won't even say a recipe, a fragment of the recipe is during a pressure test.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So they tell you like this is roughly what it's supposed to be.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:These are the ingredients. The ingredients are there. You got to figure most of it out on your own. Wow, yeah.
Speaker 2:No, that's crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so then you know, they'll keep asking you. So you know, and they'll come to you, you see, when they're like okay, you got one hour right and we're going. Oh, one hour's a long time, oh, my God, it's not.
Speaker 2:I don't think so, man. One hour is not long.
Speaker 1:Depends. If you're going for a haul, if you're driving on a road trip, one hour is nothing. If you're doing a plank, 10 seconds it's a long time, was all yeah. And then they have to do a cooking test, and so how they keep it fair is the cooking test itself. The people who are tasting your food are the food producers, not the judges. Yet they will taste it blind and they will go. Okay, this one, yes this one no, this one yes this one no, so to keep it fair right.
Speaker 1:And then our profiles are sent to the judges. For this season especially, the judges had to pick us into teams, right? So then the judges decided who goes in which team, Like they selected. Okay, this guy, this guy, this guy.
Speaker 2:Wow, this is really like the survival series.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, yes, it is, it is man, it is.
Speaker 2:Now let's take us through this journey right. Just a few things that you know, I think, maybe people who want to know about the competition. Let's start off with the three judges.
Speaker 1:Okay, what do you want to know, man?
Speaker 2:Audra Morris. How is she like?
Speaker 1:Audra is exactly what you see on TV. There is no fluff. She is as real as you see. She has very, very infectious laughter when she laughs, the rest of us start laughing also. And yeah, I know it's like 90% of the laughs this season are my fault and yeah, but she's as real as it is and I feel like she is one judge that is so unique compared to all the other judges in other competitions as well, because she's actually been in the competition herself. Right, she's a finalist who didn't win at the end.
Speaker 1:But she knows the pressure, she knows so when you are losing you know when you're losing it a bit she'll come like okay, look, calm down, I've been where you are. You just need to take a breath, clear your head, just focus. Read the instructions again for our pressure test, for example, right. Or she'll go like okay, just look, just watch you, watch your pot, don't over think, relax, calm down.
Speaker 2:It's like a real mentor kind of you know, feel right. And just like a school teacher as well.
Speaker 1:Exactly. It's brilliant man, Someone who's actually done it.
Speaker 2:And yeah, and she helps a lot in that sense, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, she's the one who understands the pressure of the time crunch who understands that, the emotions that suddenly go through and you know a twill is not working out or whatever. Right, Damien the Silva. Damien the Silva is, as his restaurant suggests, he is the Rampa, he's the Papa of Rampas, he is the grandfather of Rampa. And for him it can look as pretty as it can. Flavor counts flavor, flavor, flavor.
Speaker 2:That's key right.
Speaker 1:That's key. And if when he puts it in his mouth and he's happy, he's happy, and if he's not, he's very critical. But I think it's critical in a good way. What a lot of people don't see off camera is, whatever he's delivered, he goes to the person after it. They say you know why? I said that to you right.
Speaker 1:You understand. So this is what I would have done. Maybe it's not as modern as what you have done, which is great, because we need something to move forward, right, but this is what I would have done. So maybe for the next challenge think about that, play safe on flavor and maybe for your plating you go a bit wilder. So he's actually very, very, very fatherly actually.
Speaker 2:This is great insights right Like because you don't see all these on screen, what you see on TV and-.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you don't, because there's a time crunch right, exactly.
Speaker 2:Beyond Shen.
Speaker 1:Beyond. Shen is his wacky guy. When he's on set he's hilarious. He just does the craziest things he comes up with the Like what.
Speaker 1:I remember once, like one of the set producers in their team, somebody had a birthday and then he just found out on the spot. And then he goes to the crew table with all the food and all that. He took a Snickers bar, he took something else and then he mixed it with Milo, then he microwaved it and it became this lumpy looking sludge of a cake he put because she smoked. So he put a cigarette on it, lit it. Happy birthday to you.
Speaker 2:He's this wacky guy, so he's wacky.
Speaker 1:And he. The ingredients that Beyond will choose are absolute, absolute, absolute flavor bombs.
Speaker 2:There is no in between.
Speaker 1:And he's very. It may not come across in the competition as much, but if you go down to Adichok and eat, you will realize that he is very planned forward and he uses a lot of things like Nori. He uses a lot of vegan ingredients that we take but we don't even consider using cheese and all of that. The stuff that he uses to make cheese is crazy.
Speaker 2:Okay, nice, nice. The next question I want to ask you is, in terms of the competition, what was harder like preparing the dish or the time factor? Because, as you said, the one hour thing, because you're racing against time. So which is harder to you?
Speaker 1:It's definitely time, 100% time, because I feel like, as you go on in the competition, if you survive each round, that means recipe creation is not a problem for you. You can come up with something on the spot, right, but it's about pulling yourself away from. I can do these seven elements to sometimes go like. Will these five elements work instead? Because of the time and the time is the realest thing on the competition. If it's one hour, it's really one hour. The moment the clock is off, the judges will run to your table, mostly beyond. He'll run and he'll start snapping pictures so that, even if we adulterate the dish, they will know already.
Speaker 2:Ah, okay, okay, I understand so that time is really.
Speaker 1:If it's one hour, it's 45 minutes, it's 45 minutes. There's nothing, there's no way to hide.
Speaker 2:Have you, during the course of the competition, said that's it. Man, I'm gone Like because of the time factor and you think that's it?
Speaker 1:man. So I did actually fear after Mandy had plated up not plated up a dish in the previous round. In the previous episode I actually left my protein in the oven and I think that was the lowest moment for me he wasn't plated.
Speaker 1:I plated everything else except for the proteins, which were prawns, and the prawns were perfectly cooked at that point. But time's up right. So I had my rotis on the plate, my salsa on the plate and I had my raita dressing on the plate and my tenduri prawns were left in the oven and I thought, okay, I'm gone right.
Speaker 1:And they said that no the rule that we made was very simple If you ever present us an empty plate, you will be eliminated on the spot right, your plate's not empty, but you're definitely not going to be able to fight for the advantage which is fair, yeah, so yeah, but at that point in time I thought like, oh man, is this where it ends?
Speaker 2:No, I got this from somewhere. I think one of the interviews that you did right. In your opinion. You said it was more like a marathon than a sprint, the whole competition itself, and you didn't mind not winning challenges, but rather stay in the competition. Now that is to me, and listen, it's a competition.
Speaker 1:It's as simple as that, and it's like playing the game, obviously. You know, just like watching Survivor. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:That kind of thing, that kind of vibes, right? Was it always been like that for you?
Speaker 1:So for this I have to answer into what. For the first part, the editing was very, very good. So congratulations, guys, because that's not what it actually was for me. For me. I. So if you watch after episode four or five, after I didn't do my prawns, right, I actually went on and up towards the finale, right, but I kept coming in second.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Every episode, every challenge second place, second place, second place. And it was always to Mandy Tina, mandy Tina, mandy Tina, and I just kept going like what do I have to do to come into, you know, to come into first place, right, and I don't know, man, it was just. I mean, yeah, it is a marathon more than a sprint, but yeah, you feel like gosh, what do I have to do to beat this guy? You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:But yeah, you know, I think at the end of the day, right, it's very important as well to get that in your head, because sometimes, even if you get second and then you feel down about it and then Morrell hits rock bottom you know Exactly, but you need to keep on going by even saying that you know to psych yourself up. Yeah, you have to, you know why?
Speaker 1:Because I mean, for I don't know, I can't speak of other seasons. I can't speak of other competitions, but this season itself everybody just really wanted to stay in the master chef kitchen. Just for us, it's Candyland, right, it's Disneyland on steroids for us. Every kitchen equipment you can dream of is there. Every ingredient that you possibly want to muck around with is there.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:And to get eliminated. It's so hard wrenching that, ah, I can't come back to this kitchen to ever cook again, right? Right, right right. And even walking into the kitchen for the finale there was a moment where I went like, damn, this is the last time, right, and I'm never going to be cooking in this kitchen again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. Now let's go into something like the insights into recording like you know the whole recording process and what goes onto what we watch on TV, right? What was most interesting to you about the whole recording process and stuff like that?
Speaker 1:I think. I mean we started to understand why it was done, but we were all placed at different benches at different times. This had nothing to do with the story or anything. It was just so that the camera could get everybody when it goes on the pan view and all that.
Speaker 1:So that took some getting used to, but after a while we sort of like it became second nature as number one. As people got eliminated also, it's easier to manage. But we also sort of got okay I need to ensure that I'm not in line with Amir, I need to be behind on the left a little bit because Tina's on the right a little bit.
Speaker 2:So we sort of start guessing and yeah, Were you always, like you know, conscious of the fact that this could go on air, and because you wouldn't know right, Like what could actually go on air and what you say, and so there's so much that went on that actually didn't come out on air and like I mean, we have a group chat where all of us are in there and we're going.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, I can't believe they cut that out. That was so good. And that was like whether it's a joke or whether it's an emotional moment or something like that, and then oh, why did they cut that out? Or somebody goes like hey God, I got absolutely slammed for that. How come it didn't come out on TV Like thank God?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, exactly Exactly Now, besides yourself right, Take yourself out of the picture, man.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:Who, in your opinion, deserves to win this? Okay, I'm not trying to be politically correct, not even between the three of you. No, no, I agree. I agree.
Speaker 1:I honestly think anyone in the top 10, top 9, top 8, anybody could win it. Really, really, really.
Speaker 2:It's just about on the day Like.
Speaker 1:It's really on the day how you go. I think, like you look at Jonathan like the stuff that Jonathan produces is absolutely nuts.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:In terms of like flavor bombs, I think me and him can go toe-to-toe very well.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Tina can do flavor as well. Very very strong Okay. Mandy, mandy. So like you have, like me, tina, jonathan and maybe Isaac, so the four of us are these like absolute flavor bombs? Every single time. And then you have Devia Ruben, who else Mandy?
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:You know, these guys are like super finesse Amir as well, Like very refined, very skilled, but still flavorful right. So really anybody's game.
Speaker 2:Are y'all really tight-knit?
Speaker 1:Oh, super tight, yeah, super super tight Just not like the survivor.
Speaker 2:No, no, it's really not like that. There's a lot of backstabbing and all.
Speaker 1:We just really want, I guess, okay for survivor, because the goal is to survive. Right, you want to get the million dollars at the end of the day and you need. You know the game is to eliminate people, but here it was, dude. We met people who, like, think about food, just like us, like it's absolutely nuts, like wow, you, you know, I found another unicorn sort of sort of there right. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Tell me the moment, or did you ever feel that moment right that you felt I don't know, when you woke up in the morning and said I've got a chance here to really win this. Was there a point?
Speaker 1:There was a point where I went like, okay, you know what I'm, I was always in it to win it there was no. It wasn't like oh, I'm here for the experience, nothing. The moment I got the white apron, I wanted the chef's jacket. It's the moment I got the chef's jacket, I wanted the trophy.
Speaker 1:It wasn't, it was nothing. There was no doubt in my mind ever. But I think not once did it cross my mind that I can get eliminated today. Even as I was walking into an elimination challenge, I just did my own side cup and I went like you know what?
Speaker 2:It's just you were not going to get eliminated. I'm not going to get eliminated.
Speaker 1:I may not win the challenge, but I'm not getting eliminated. The challenge that I felt like, okay, I can win it was Chef Malcolm's challenge. The day that, you know, ruben gave me that massive fish head, and then the next one, we had to replicate his fish more soup. When I came in second on that dish, I was like, hang on, if I can do something so delicately balanced, yeah, I think I can win this, nice, nice.
Speaker 2:Now this whole experience of you know, obviously the competition, meeting people, the judges getting criticized, getting praised. The whole works right and we need obviously. What has it taught? What's the lesson that you've learned about yourself?
Speaker 1:Honestly, I found out about myself that I actually have a lot more endurance than I give myself credit for. I have a lot more willpower than you think. Sometimes you think like, oh, I can do this, I can do a 91km run, but then you reach the 20 or 25km you're like, okay, what was I thinking right? But for me usually it's the other way around. I have this streak where I kind of self doubt myself quite a bit, but I think, just going on getting the feedback.
Speaker 2:Why, why do you? I don't know, man. Is there anything to do about the cooking part? I mean in general, you mean yeah, just in general.
Speaker 1:I just always feel like maybe it's not supposed to be me you know what I mean. Like this, fairytale endings don't happen for everyone, and definitely not me. But as the season went on, I go like hang on, why not me right? Why not. It could be me. As long as I keep producing, what's to stop me?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a good point. Actually, Self doubt is Again. I heard this from somewhere that self doubt is the worst thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a prison that you create for yourself, and the only person who can let you out is you, but you're so busy like just digging this hole that is deeper and deeper and deeper. It's just getting harder to come out.
Speaker 2:Anyway, congratulations again. It was you know, I think at the end of the day, you totally deserved it, and kudos to you, and my friend it's absolutely brilliant. Some personal thoughts before we leave right, sure Now in coaching, I do coaching as well. I'm a football coach as well, right? So in coaching there's a coaching philosophy.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:One for chefs. Do you have like a philosophy for that as well?
Speaker 1:So I've been blessed. Since the competition ended, I've worked in a machine-start kitchen to get some training, and the one thing I've learned from watching all the chefs is keep your knife sharp, your station clean and your head down.
Speaker 2:Can you repeat that? That is nice man? What?
Speaker 1:is it? What is it? Keep your knife sharp, your station clean and your head down.
Speaker 2:Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Are you mindful about healthy cooking and therefore eating?
Speaker 1:I try Honestly, I really do. I do try. I mean my wife's going to hate me for things, but ever since my daughter is born I try to be healthier because I want to be around as long as I can to be with her. I still want to be with you, my wife, don't take it wrong Priorities.
Speaker 2:I know right but.
Speaker 1:I don't know. For me, the thing that has been difficult for me is compromising flavour over healthy food. So I love good tasting food. It doesn't have to be deep fried. It just needs to taste really good. Unfortunately, most of the things that taste good come from fat.
Speaker 2:Right, you're right. So that is kind of like a minor problem.
Speaker 1:Something that hopefully we can work on Nice.
Speaker 2:Now this question is the next question I'm going to ask. Is a friend of mine who actually said ask in Nepal for me. Right, fusion cooking it's a lot, it's everywhere nowadays. Now this culture of fusion cooking, right, is it an advantage for the younger generation or has it taken the originality out of traditional cooking and the taste and the flavour?
Speaker 1:Fusion cooking is massive because we are so blessed to live in a time where we can just hop on a plane anywhere go try out a different cuisine come back, replicate or try to infuse it into our cultures. But where I think fusion cooking has advantages and advantages, there are no disadvantages to fusion cooking?
Speaker 1:Why? Very simply because it creates something completely new and something that doesn't exist Like. If you blend Indian food with French cuisine, it comes out this very delicate, beautiful but strong flavours. Why I say that there's still an advantage to the traditional method is because of there are a lot of realists out there who then look at fusion cooking and go like this is not food.
Speaker 1:I want to come down to the root of this cuisine right, which may not have existed if the fusion food was not presented to them in the first place. Like they'll taste it and go like oh, hang on. This is nice, but I want to know what the root flavour of this is right.
Speaker 1:Then people go and explore. So one example I can give you is from a couple of seasons ago. Chef from on MasterChef itself, vasun. She's an amazing vegetarian chef but she loves the South Indian roots. So after the competition ended she went to South India, sat with the old grandmas and all that and really explored the deep levels of what it is to be a proper South Indian cooking and she found that out, Moringa, all of these ingredients that we don't really use very often right, so I think it's a double-edged sword, but both good, nice.
Speaker 2:I hope that answers your question, siva. What are some items or dishes that you won't cook?
Speaker 1:or you won't try. I'm open to trying everything. I think there's some ingredients that I just won't cook with because I don't know. I just feel like this, like awful, awful or innards. I just feel like there's so much more animal than what you need to go inside, bro. There's a lot of animal outside.
Speaker 2:Okay, so you don't do the.
Speaker 1:I mean I'm willing to try it. I'm willing to try and see if I can take the stigma of it maybe.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I'm willing to try. Okay, it's just like one of those. What's true is that bizarre foods, you know?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean like Okay, you want to eat ends or I'll be my guest. Tell me you want to eat, they're interested. I'm going to be like why?
Speaker 2:Why do you think?
Speaker 1:something that helps, something else digest something.
Speaker 2:I am in my late 40s, right Sure, is it too late to take up cooking.
Speaker 1:It's never too late to take up cooking. Cooking is a life skill. But I'm just starting from scratch, my friend, Starting from scratch is the best place to start, Because if you have a bit of an education about it, then if you leave it for a while, come back to it let's say 12 years later you go like, hey, why is everything so different?
Speaker 1:It's harder to unlearn than to learn. So I think you can always pick up a new skill and I think cooking is one of the skills that if everybody did cooking, I think the world would be a better place.
Speaker 2:Of course, of course, and sexy as well for a guy, to you know.
Speaker 1:Yep, I mean still married.
Speaker 2:Now, what healthy snack can I prepare in 15 minutes, my friend?
Speaker 1:15 minutes healthy snack.
Speaker 2:Don't say good Mac, don't know.
Speaker 1:Nah, I think it's. I think generally Asian cuisine is very rich, so you might want to go. You can have your Asian flavor onto something that's very Western, which is a very simple like a chicken breast with vegetables that you can just pop into the oven. But maybe I give you guys a marinade that you guys can try. That might be something a bit different. Just use honey, paprika, chili powder and a little bit of salt just to bring out the sweetness, let that marinate.
Speaker 1:If you can leave it overnight and then pop it in the oven with whatever vegetables you want, you'll have a hearty meal that's tasty as well.
Speaker 2:That already sounds damn good, right? It's brilliant, nice, nice. Okay, indapal, before we leave, right, I always do this, not do this. Do this with my guests. Okay, the 10, not 10,. It's a quick fire around, okay let's do this. She's got to be quick answers. All right, your witty, you'll find out your favorite judge and why.
Speaker 1:Chef Damien, he's like a father to me.
Speaker 2:Signature dish.
Speaker 1:Oh, signature dish. I think from the competition it would have to be the no-crab chili, crab sauce, roti jon.
Speaker 2:Okay, nice. What's your personal comfort food? Chicken rice, okay, roasted.
Speaker 1:Roasted breast meat only.
Speaker 2:Breast meat only. Okay, your favorite holiday destination for food.
Speaker 1:For food the United States.
Speaker 2:United States yes, why.
Speaker 1:So much going on. It's just a boiling pot. You've got Mexican food. You've got soul food. You have some of the best burgers in the world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've seen those.
Speaker 1:You go to Texas, you get so much good barbecue. You go to California. You go to LA, you have a lot of good up and coming food. You go to San Fran you've got great Chinese food, great Italian food. It's a melting pot.
Speaker 2:How about your favorite holiday destination, the United States? I love to eat man, your pet peeve in the kitchen.
Speaker 1:Pet peeve in the kitchen. Somebody uses my station and doesn't clean down the pot. That is something I just I can't just why you used it. Just clean it down, man, simple.
Speaker 2:You're a stickler for. Have you got OCD a?
Speaker 1:little bit. Maybe A little bit. I like to make sure my board is adjusted straight. I don't know why.
Speaker 2:Yes, you are, it makes no sense. Okay, fish or chicken Fish, why I love seafood? Okay, favorite dessert.
Speaker 1:Favorite dessert. Wow, too many, right? No, actually, this is it my grandmother in Los Glob, jamun.
Speaker 2:Okay, sweet man, sweet, sweet, Biggest disappointment.
Speaker 1:Not signing up for Masterchef earlier? Really, yeah, I actually signed up in season one and got in, but then I had just started a new job.
Speaker 2:So I just thought like this is the right time you got in and then you, you.
Speaker 1:I just replied to them. Sorry, I can't come for the food audition.
Speaker 2:Lucky you didn't get Black Mug man. No, I didn't. But.
Speaker 1:I met one of the producers and said hey, you signed up season one, right? I said yeah, Thanks for wasting my time, Sorry, man.
Speaker 2:All right, biggest achievement besides Masterchef.
Speaker 1:Biggest achievement? Oh wow, it's supposed to be quick fires. Nothing coming with my head. I haven't achieved a lot, man. No biggest achievement, I think, was so last year for Diwali I actually got invited to do a showcase at the Asian Civilizations Museum to teach people how to make butter, chicken and kheer, and I thought that was very it's a very humbling experience for me because I got to meet people who that was the first time somebody actually called me chef and that felt amazing, even though it was a bit of a, you know, imposter syndrome.
Speaker 2:Yeah it felt good, nice, nice. Okay, your last question, right. If you were not a chef, what would you be, or who would you be?
Speaker 1:I would definitely still be in FMB, because the rush of service is something that I can't take away, but I would probably be, hopefully, a very successful restaurant here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, why not, man? Why not? Why not? That was great, my friend. Yes. So, mr Chef Indapal, what's next for you, like maybe, where do you see yourself in, maybe in five years?
Speaker 1:Okay, in five years, either I would have a chain of brunch places in Singapore that give you a very unique Singaporean brunch with my friend Ruben, or I would hopefully, hopefully, have a Michelin star. That would be the dream.
Speaker 2:You are doing this anyway, this brunch thing right Because. I've been seeing it on social media and stuff. So tell us all, what was this about anyway?
Speaker 1:So me and Ruben we were in different teams during the competition and we sort of got together after shooting and he said like hey, man, because he's a very vegetable forward guy, he loves his veg, and he realized that a lot of the Punjabi food that I was cooking- on the competition was very wedge centric, right.
Speaker 1:And you went like, hey, there's a lot of vegetables in your culture. Can I just, you know, pick your brain a little bit? I said, yeah, sure, man, come over. So we had cha, we sat down and started talking and you're like, do you mind if I do like a, you know, like recording series of some very basic Punjabi dishes, right? So we banged out I think 12 or 10 videos over three days. There's way too much food. And he took half of it back, ate it.
Speaker 1:he loved it, and then we started talking along the way. You know what's actually missing in Singapore, like a proper brunch place where you can go for Singaporean brunch. It's amazing brunch places in Singapore, right, but all of them will give you your very, very good eggs ban avatose and all that.
Speaker 1:The most Singaporean element you'll probably get is like pancakes with kaya. That's like as Singaporean as it gets, right. So we said that. And then, on the flip side, if you don't want brunch but you want something Singaporean, you have to go to a kopitiam. There's no in between right, true, true. So we decided that we want to be the in between guys. Nice. So we came up with this brunch concept. Of course, the no brainer was putting the roti jeon on the menu. That I did from season, from episode two.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:And doing more variations of it, right. And then Ruben is the he's so good with, like pastas and all that understanding the base flavors of all that.
Speaker 1:We did sambal, udang pasta, lasalsah, hijau pastas and stuff like that, rice bowls, biryani bowls. So yeah, we just came out of the menu. Then an investor approached me and said I want to do something with you. I go like sure man. Then he put money on the table and said okay, let's go. Now. I'm like okay, no, no, no, calm down, and why don't we do a trial you?
Speaker 1:see how we go see if we're profitable and then we can explore doing something further. So that's how the brunch idea came about, and we just finished our first weekend. So pretty good, very happy with the response. Thank you so much to all the Singaporeans who came down and tried our food and for those who are coming this coming weekend. We can't wait to meet you guys.
Speaker 2:So it's every weekend then?
Speaker 1:No, it's only these two weekends, so after that I'm taking a short break with my family for a while, and then Ruben is actually working at Adachok.
Speaker 3:So he needs time to sort of balance all of that out.
Speaker 1:We're all trying to balance all of this out. It's very new and of course it's not just us. That's affecting our wonderful spouses as well, our partners who I can imagine. Yeah, who's like okay, this is really new and we don't get to see you Like what's going on, you know.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And yeah, but personally for myself. After this brunch series I again very, very blessed, very humbled, for the opportunities that I've gotten. Some people have booked me for private dinings in their homes, so I'm going to do that and I'm also doing a private dining showcase for the public in December.
Speaker 2:How does this work, this private dining thing? I'm curious, man.
Speaker 1:So private dining. If somebody calls me over, I go over and I cook in their kitchen, present a meal for about eight to ten packs. Cannot do more than ten. It's very difficult.
Speaker 2:The quality control right.
Speaker 1:And then we do a fine dining experience. I will do a fine dining experience at the year end for about 30 packs per night and that one is like I will just sell a ticket. People come, it's a tasting menu, you pay a fixed fee, you get fed until you can't move.
Speaker 2:That sounds great, man. Nice, nice, interpal. Any advice for budding chefs, especially the younger ones, coming up and working in a restaurant, for example, and they just want to be wearing that apron?
Speaker 1:Just keep going. It's very easy, and chefing can be a very holistic journey, something that's very wholesome because the people around you really care for you, if you can find a space where you work, where the head chefs really look after everyone.
Speaker 1:I think that's very important. In Singapore we're very lucky that a lot of chefs do that, so it's not so difficult. But chefing can also be a very lonely journey. It's not easy to. You're going to have to sacrifice a lot of personal time. If you have a girlfriend who's not in the industry or you have a boyfriend who's not in the industry, it's going to be very tough for you to maintain your relationship because you're going to start work some days at nine in the morning and you're going to end at three in the morning the next day, right, and your spouse, your partner, your girlfriend, boyfriend it's not going to see you much.
Speaker 1:So, you can get very lonely. So my advice if you can find someone from the industry to date or don't at all, or don't at all that's fine. And when you finally make it as a chef, don't worry that there will be people at the door waiting to marry you Exactly.
Speaker 2:Wonderful, wonderful advice, mr Indapal Singh. Thank you so much. Thank you very much, brother. I think it has been wonderful, a nice insight into the MasterChef series, as well as yourself, your thoughts, your insights into what's happening, and we wish you all the best for your future.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much.
Speaker 2:And this has been the latest episode of the Silver Fox Hustle Podcast. Don't forget, before we go, just click on the follow subscribe button. Youtube, spotify, apple Podcasts we are everywhere, so thank you again, indapal.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much.
Speaker 2:The hustle beats talent. When talent doesn't hustle, cheers.
Speaker 1:Thank you guys, thank you, thank you.